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Introduction
Operationalization refers to the definition of study variables to establish the measurable factors. This process establishes the concepts used in a study, as well as explains the quantitative and empirical measurement of the study variables. Also, operationalization process defines the exact variables used in the study. As such, operationalization is important in any given study in that it explains the different methods of measuring the independent, dependent and control variables used. Such an approach is significant in that it lays out a foundation for which other researchers can follow. This paper thus, presents the concepts and operationalization of a study carried out to establish the factors that affect the outcome of a police departments community-oriented policing.
The primary concern of the study was on a police community-oriented policing. As such, the study aimed at establishing whether characteristics of a community affect a police departments community-based policing. For this reason, the study was based on the following research question: Do the characteristics of a community (culture, ethnic, etc.) affect a police departments community-oriented policing? The study thus, targeted police officers working in predominantly Hispanic communities in South Florida. Several variables, independent, dependent, as well as control variables, were used in this study to help in answering the research questions.
Dependent variables
In any study, the dependent variable refers to the variable that depends on other factors. For this reason, the outcome of the dependent variable in a study is determined by the interplay of other aspects of the given study (the independent variables). For this case, the study had only one dependent variable. The dependent variable thus, was the outcome of a police departments community-oriented policing. This is an ordinal variable and thus, the Neal and Groats ME scale was used to measure the outcome of the community-oriented policing based on not successful and fully successful approach. The outcome measure was success status.
Independent variables
In any study, independent variables are the variables that tend to have a given amount of effect on the dependent variable. Such variables are necessary for a study because they determine the direction of any research; they influence the outcome of the dependent variable. The independent variables for the study included communication, trust, commitment, and unity. All the independent variables used in this study were ordinal. Communication refers to the act of sharing information between different parties. Trust is the concept of individuals having confidence in a given person or a thing while commitment, explains the act of a particular persons insistence on a particular course. Unity, on the other hand, refers to the sense of oneness among individuals. As such, considering that for ordinal variables, the difference between values does not matter; thus the measurement of trust, communication, commitment and unity was done through rank ordering. Commitment, trust, communication, and unity are significant personal attributes. The measure of the effect of the availability and unavailability of commitment, trust, communication, and unity was used as the outcome measure. For this reason, the variables were measured based on the Neal and Groats ME scale whereby the responses from the participants were based on the aspect of strongly agree and strongly disagree . For a case where the respondents felt that communication, trust, commitment, and unity played a significant role in the success of a police departments community-oriented policing, the response would be strongly agree , with a high rating. On the other hand, strongly disagree responses would feature scenarios whereby the participants felt that the variables did not have any effect on the community-oriented policing.
Control variables
In any research, control variables are defined as any variables different from the dependent and independent variables that affect the dependent variable, but are not included in the list of the primary variables during a study. The control variables alternatively explain the aspects that need to be controlled to answer the research questions effectively. In this case, one of the control variables was diversity in culture. The targeted group consists of people with different cultural backgrounds. Cultural diversity affects the dependent variable in this study in that different cultures have many differences, and such a scenario may influence the concerned police departments community-oriented policing. The community behaviors are also in the list of control variables. Different people have different behaviors based on their cultural orientation. As a result, the difference in peoples behavior within the community is likely to have different effects on the outcome of the community-oriented policing. The control variables (cultural diversity and community behaviors) are examples of ordinal level measurements and thus the measurement was done using questionnaires whereby a scale was the basis of determination of their effect on the dependent variable.
Conclusion
From the foregoing, it is evident that different variables in a study have different roles. While the independent variables directly affect the dependent variables, the influence of the control variables might have a considerable effect on the general behavior of any dependent variable in a given study. Usually, these are variable that a researcher is supposed to control to ensure that the research questions are effectively answered. In this case, the control of the community behaviors, and the cultural inclination of the participants is necessary in determining how excellent communication, trust, commitment, and unity affect the outcome of a police departments community-oriented policing.
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